£65m in funding announced for third-level studies

The Government has announced the second phase of funding, worth £65 million, for third-level research under a programme operated by the Higher Education Authority. The funds will be used over the next three years to support research in the sciences and humanities.

It is part of the programme for research in third-level institutions run by the HEA, with a budget of £230 million in both phases. Of the £65 million, the State will provide £25 million for capital expenditure and £15 million for current expenditure.

The remainder will come as matching funding from the institutions which bid successfully for this financial support.

"What the Government has sought to do in the last two years is to bring the importance of research into the centre of public policy on education," the Minister for Education and Science, Mr Martin, stated yesterday. "Without world-class research you cannot have a world-class education system."

The programme had come in for a substantial increase from a base of just £5 million in 1998, he said. While he acknowledged that achieving "value for money does become an issue", he was "confident" that the funds would be well invested by the third-level sector.

The universities and institutes will be invited to apply for funding under the programme, the Minister of State for Science and Technology, Mr Noel Treacy, said. The support was designed to "promote excellence in research and contribute to the quality of teaching in the institutions".

Applicants were being encouraged to establish links between institutions. The disbursement of funds was expected to be completed by next July, he added.

The increase in funding for research since 1998, when the HEA programme began, had experienced "a remarkable quantum leap", according to the chairman of the HEA, Dr Don Thornhill.

The second round of funding was welcomed by the chairman of the Conference of Heads of Irish Universities, Dr Patrick Fottrell. The support "had made huge strides in addressing the historic deficit in State investment in university research", he said.